Alaska Shore Tours

Alaska Shore Tours was founded in 2013 by Drew Fortner and his wife, Petra. The idea for Alaska Shore Tours sprouted when Drew was working in Carcross, Yukon with several tour companies in Skagway Alaska. He quickly realized while tourism was strong the level of customer service and marketing offered to folks in the lower 48 had plenty of room for improvement. This is when the idea of having one website to promote all of the tour operators was born, starting in Skagway. Which over the next few years grew into Juneau and Ketchikan as well.

In 2014 when managing all three websites grew out of Drew’s skillset, he started researching various companies to help with some projects. ZaneRay caught his eye for several reasons. First of all, we are located in Whitefish where he wanted to set up a physical office, and he was impressed by the caliber of our clientele and portfolios. Particularly a kit builder we built for Patagonia. Another advantage of working with us is that he would be able to drop into the office in person to talk over projects with ZaneRay team members face to face which is a rarity in the web industry these days.

A unique feature ZaneRay developed for Alaska Shore Tours was a cruise-specific sidebar. The goal of this sidebar was to give a personalized journey that builds confidence in the customer that the different tour options they are viewing and choosing are compatible for the times the customer is at a particular port, including the length of the tour. Providing this ability for customers to plan their trip accurately instills the confidence for the tour purchase. As a result of this feature, we saw an increase in revenue for Alaska Shore Tours of nearly 300% in 2017.

Worthy of mention is that since its founding, Alaska Shore Tours has always had a 5% pledge and donated 5% of profits towards programs that strengthen Alaska environmentally and culturally. The company has a firm belief that tourism can give more than it takes and promote the evolving idea of 'Travel Responsibility.'

ZaneRay is proud to work with such a forward-thinking company that not only is providing its customers with the experience of a lifetime touring Alaska but also gives back to help sustain the beauty of Alaska for generations to come.